Is Boko Haram actually defeated?

Chased from their homes, risking it all, these girl and boys had to cross forests, deserts and swamps with or without shoes. Escaping Boko Haram-related violence in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, they all have one thing in common: they managed to break free from violence.
“We are nomads. We were not in the camp when it was attacked by Boko Haram. I was out riding a camel with my father and saw people running away. He told me to start screaming if I saw any danger. The first night I slept on a tree. I was too scared.” Tahar Mohamed, 8, Chadian returnee from Niger.

“The gunshots woke me up. 18 people got killed and everybody was terrified. I could not walk as fast as my brothers, after some days, I was too tired and hungry to walk, especially with these slippers”. Fatime Hassan, 7. Chadian returnee from Niger.

“I didn’t have time to take my shoes. I had to walk all the way barefoot on the hot sand. After three days walking, we arrived in a village and sold what we had left in exchange of some cooked rice.” Ahmat Ali Makai, 12, Chadian returnee from Niger.
“They were all dressed in black and wore turbans. They destroyed everything. We ran. My feet were badly injured from walking in the bush barefoot with all those thorns. I had to go to the clinic so they could pull them out with pliers” Khadija Kaku, 15, Nigerian refugee in Chad. 
Is Boko Haram actually defeated?  

A changed nation two years after Ebola

As our nation continues to rebuild, we have grown stronger in many ways.. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , President of the Republic of Liberia.

During the course of 17 devastating months,the Ebola Epidemic  infected nearly 11,000 people in Liberia alone, killing more than 4,800 of them, 192 of whom were doctors, nurses and health practitioners. Today, two years after the World Health Organization declared  an international emergency, and several months since “zero cases” signaled our nightmare was truly over, the question that now keeps many people awake at night is: could it happen all over again?

Without a doubt, the outbreak has had a profound effect on our nation beyond the individual lives affected and taken by this dreadful disease. In the wake of 30 years of civil and political turmoil, Ebola challenged much of the progress we had made in rebuilding the country, leaving Liberia in a weakened state. Our health systems and infrastructure had nearly collapsed, we now have a desperate shortage of health workers, and it will take years for our economy to recover. And yet, despite such challenges, I believe we are indeed now better prepared to cope if Ebola does once again rear its ugly head, thanks largely to the strength of our people.

Even before Ebola struck, much of our basic infrastructure, including roads, water systems and power, was in great need of attention, particularly in rural areas. And now, despite our best efforts to provide better incentives for doctors and nurses, we have struggled to recruit sufficient medical staff in these remote regions.

The challenge is that as we continue with the process of rebuilding, we are doing so from a severely weakened position. Our economy has improved, but we are still not back to our level before the epidemic. Many of the investors that left during the outbreak have not returned. Lingering fears are still keeping them away. This threatens to further weaken us.If there is one thing we have learned from Ebola, it is that disease prevention requires investment.

Looking ahead, we are in a very different place. We still need support, but with the emergency over, Liberia’s fate is no longer determined by a merciless virus. Our people are now better informed about the nature of infectious disease. We have made huge progress in regaining the trust of the people,perhaps more so than Liberia has seen for decades. Indeed, just last month, for the first time in 13 years, Liberia took control of its own security forces. Peace is very much in our hands.

So, despite the incalculable suffering and horror we have endured, my belief is that we have ultimately emerged from this ordeal stronger and more unified. Today, as our nation grieves on this solemn anniversary, we know that we have to take primary responsibility to heal ourselves no one can help us to heal. But on the long road to recovery we will need continued partnership for rebuilding. 

--Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , President of the Republic of Liberia.

Vision and determination are the keys that can unlock any door..congrats Margret Rumat Rumat Hassan

Her family was displaced by war. She missed out on several years of school and, at the age of 19, she is still finishing her primary education.
But Margret Rumat Rumat Hassan has a dream. Actually, two dreams.She hopes one day to become a teacher. And on August 15 she wants to make South Sudan proud when she competes as a 200 meters runner at the Olympic Games in Brazil.
Margret's inspirational story has been seen by millions around the world in a TV advert. The film shows South Sudanese supporters chanting her name as she prepares to represent the world's youngest country at its first Olympics.
The teenager from Wau city previously had to overcome the odds to compete as an independent athlete at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in China.
In another film made for the Olympics' YouTube channel, Margret - who has five brothers and sisters - talked about her training regime.
She said: “Sometimes I wake up and I have breakfast and other days I don’t have breakfast. Sometimes I can just buy a banana."
South Sudan has only one sports facility that  meets international standards.
“We have no facilities in South Sudan for our athletes to practise," said the President of the South Sudan Olympic Committee, Lt. General Wilson Deng Kuoirot.
"There are no qualified trainers and sports equipment in the country. It is like teaching without a classroom."
 
To Margret Rumat Rumat Hassan, vision and determination are the keys that can unlock any door

The Indigenous student

The challenges faced by Indigenous student..

When Ahniwake Rose's 8-year-old daughter goes to her elementary school in November, she will have to explain to her teacher why she won't be participating in the Thanksgiving Day pageant. The fairy tale of a budding Indian-Pilgrim friendship, performed by non-Native students in craft-paper headdresses, disrespects her heritage — and it's something the little girl can't support.
Rose, who is Cherokee and Muscogee Creek, names this as just one moment of many that Indigenous students have to navigate in an educational system that renders them invisible.

Indigenous children around the world have long been denied  the right to celebrate their roots while getting a comprehensive education. They're up against major inequalities, from structural racism embedded in school systems to inaccurate retelling of history.

Aug. 9 is International day for Indigenous people a time to acknowledge the struggles and celebrate the resilience of Indigenous communities, while also shining a light on the inequalities they still face. This year, the theme is the right to education for Indigenous children around the globe.

While Indigenous communities have long-established ways of balancing tradition with education, advocates says the pressure to participate in mainstream — or non-Indigenous — life has made public schooling almost inevitable. But that doesn’t mean Indigenous students always feel welcomed or embraced.

According to UNESCO, there are an estimated  370 million Indigenous people in the world — nearly 5 percent of the global population, living across 90 countries. Their right to education is protected by the  United Nation Declaration on the  Right of Indigenous People of  which extends to most regions where Indigenous peoples live. But while it's written in print, advocates say education equality in practice is still a fallacy.

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